Summer Bash Explained

Summer Bash
Other Names:Blackpool Bash
Stadiums:Bloomfield Road
City Or Region:Blackpool
First Contested:2015
Teams Involved:14
Mostrecent:2019
Nextmeeting:2022
Total:5
League:Championship
Largestvictory: London 46-6 Sheffield
Broadcasters:Sky Sports

The Summer Bash is an annual event organised by the Rugby Football League. An entire round of Championship matches are played in a city to showcase the sport of rugby league.[1] It has been held at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool since 2015.

Concept

The Summer Bash was introduced in 2015 after the success of the Super League Magic Weekend. It is an extra round for the Championship teams to compete in, usually a local derby. The event takes place over a single weekend in which three regular season games are played back-to-back on each day with an extra fourth game being played on the Saturday which is the final of the League 1 Cup.

History

2015: Blackpool

The games played were, when possible, 'local derby' matches in an attempt to maximise interest in the event. The "non-heartland" sides were paired against each other. An extra match on the Saturday, was the final of the inaugural League 1 Cup between North Wales Crusaders and Swinton.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left North Wales Crusaders14–8align=left Swinton Lions23 May 2015 12:00 BST
(League 1 Cup Final)
8,360[2]
align=left Workington Town26–20align=left 23 May 2015 14:30 BST
align=left London Broncos46–6align=left Sheffield Eagles23 May 2015 16:45 BST
align=left Bradford Bulls18–4align=left Halifax23 May 2015 19:00 BST
align=left Dewsbury Rams19–12align=left Batley Bulldogs24 May 2015 12:45 BST7,021
align=left Doncaster12–25align=left Hunslet24 May 2015 15:00 BST
align=left Leigh Centurions31–12align=left Featherstone Rovers24 May 2015 17:15 BST

2016: Blackpool

After a successful inaugural Summer Bash in Blackpool in 2015 it returned to Blackpool in 2016 with mostly local derbies being played apart from Bradford vs Leigh and Sheffield Eagles vs London Broncos not being geographical derbies and were based on league positions. Once again, the League 1 Cup final took place as the opening game to the weekend.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left Keighley Cougars22–18align=left York City Knights28 May 2016 12:00 BST
(League 1 Cup Final)
9,521
align=left Sheffield Eagles14–32align=left 28 May 2015 15:20 BST
align=left Workington Town24–28align=left 28 May 2016 17:30 BST
align=left Bradford Bulls20–24align=left Leigh Centurions28 May 2016 19:35 BST
align=left Dewsbury Rams24–28align=left Batley Bulldogs29 May 2016 12:45 BST6,391
align=left Oldham24–25align=left Swinton Lions29 May 2016 15:00 BST
align=left Halifax37–0align=left Featherstone Rovers29 May 2016 17:15 BST

2017: Blackpool

The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a third consecutive year after the previous years record attendances. The Summer Bash once again opened with the League 1 Cup final.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left Barrow Raiders38–32align=left North Wales Crusaders27 May 2017 12:00 BST
(League 1 Cup Final)
11,557
align=left Oldham28–38align=left 27 May 2017 14:30 BST
align=left London Broncos42–16align=left 27 May 2017 16:45 BST
align=left Hull Kingston Rovers20–19align=left Bradford Bulls27 May 2017 19:00 BST
align=left Sheffield Eagles30–24align=left Swinton Lions28 May 2017 12:35 BST4,887
align=left Halifax22–32align=left Toulouse Olympique28 May 2017 15:00 BST
align=left Batley Bulldogs12–13align=left Dewsbury Rams28 May 2017 17:15 BST

2018: Blackpool

The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a fourth consecutive year after the previous years record attendances. The Summer Bash this year opened with a Women's Super League fixture.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left Featherstone Rovers Ladies22–46align=left 26 May 2018 12:30 BST
(RFL Women's Super League)
7,877
align=left Barrow Raiders22–38align=left 26 May 2018 15:00 BST
align=left Halifax24–18align=left Featherstone Rovers26 May 2018 17:15 BST
align=left Toronto Wolfpack28–26align=left Leigh Centurions26 May 2018 19:30 BST
align=left London Broncos28–40align=left Toulouse Olympique27 May 2018 13:00 BST3,928
align=left Rochdale Hornets12–38align=left Swinton Lions27 May 2018 15:15 BST
align=left Batley Bulldogs18–20align=left Dewsbury Rams27 May 2018 17:30 BST

2019: Blackpool

The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a fifth consecutive year.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left Toronto Wolfpack42–14align=left 18 May 2019 13:15 BST7,912
align=left Rochdale Hornets30–40align=left 18 May 2019 15:30 BST
align=left York City Knights10–42align=left Featherstone Rovers18 May 2019 17:45 BST
align=left Halifax21–14align=left Bradford Bulls18 May 2019 20:00 BST
align=left Barrow Raiders18–30align=left Sheffield Eagles19 May 2019 13:00 BST7,158
align=left Batley Bulldogs30–14align=left Dewsbury Rams19 May 2019 15:15 BST
align=left Leigh Centurions36–22align=left Widnes Vikings19 May 2019 17:30 BST

2020: Blackpool

The 2020 Summer Bash was scheduled to return to Blackpool for a sixth consecutive year, however was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

TeamScoreTeamMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=7%Crowd
align=left Batley BulldogsC–Calign=left 30 May 2020 15:00 BST
align=left HalifaxC–Calign=left 30 May 2020 17:15 BST
align=left Featherstone RoversC–Calign=left Bradford Bulls30 May 2020 19:30 BST
align=left Swinton LionsC–Calign=left Oldham31 May 2020 13:00 BST
align=left Sheffield EaglesC–Calign=left Whitehaven
align=left Leigh CenturionsC–Calign=left Widnes Vikings31 May 2019 17:30 BST

2021: Blackpool

The 2021 Summer Bash was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Fixtures were never released.

Team statistics

ClubPlayedWinsDrawsLosesPoints
1 Leigh Centurions 4 3 0 1 6
2 London Broncos 4 3 0 1 6
3 Swinton Lions 4 3 0 1 6
4 Dewsbury Rams 5 3 0 2 6
5 Halifax 5 3 0 2 6
6 Sheffield Eagles 5 3 0 2 6
7 Toulouse Olympique 3 2 0 1 4
8 Batley Bulldogs 5 2 0 3 4
9 Whitehaven 2 1 0 1 2
10 Bradford Bulls 4 1 0 3 2
11 Featherstone Rovers 5 1 0 4 2
12 Widnes Vikings 1 0 0 1 0
13 York City Knights 1 0 0 1 0
14 Oldham 2 0 0 2 0
152 2 0 0 4
16 Hunslet1 1 0 0 2
171 1 0 0 2
18 Workington Town2 1 0 1 2
193 1 0 2 2
202 0 0 2 0
211 0 0 1 0

Venues

Attendances

YearCityStadiumAttendance
2015Bloomfield Road15,381
2016 15,912
2017 16,444
2018 11,805
2019 15,070

Lowest weekend attendance

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kingstone Press Championship Summer Bash to rock Blackpool . www.therfl.co.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140729012853/http://www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/30581/kingstone-press-championship-summer-bash . 2014-07-29.
  2. Web site: Wood hails Summer Bash's carnival of rugby league . Love Rugby League . 25 May 2015 . 1 August 2024.